Saved!

Rating:
Summary: So True, So Good, and So Controversial!!!
Review: A few weeks ago, a friend and I went to see Saved!. Not because we like Mandy Moore or anyone in the cast, but because a movie knocking the hilarity of how dumb Christians are interested us. Now I know all of you Passion of the Christ lovers out there reading this probably hate me, but you know I'm right! I'm Catholic too, but at least I'm honest enough to admit that Saved! is completely true. If 'God is love,' he would have no problem with homosexuality. If 'God is people,' then why can't teenagers keep their babies? The whole religion idea SUCKS! Just face it.

Enough with my ranting... Onto the review. As I already stated, Saved! is true. It really does portray this lifestyle we've all come to be familiar with. It shows that it's ridiculous and I'm happy for it. It's such an awesome film because it's a teen movie with heart. It doesn't cliche itself with the typical teen movie rules. I mean sure, it does kind of take steps into other teen movies but at the same to it adds its own... oomph. Plus, I have to say the whole cast pulls off really great performances. Yes, even little Miss Moore. And Jena Malone does an excellent job as the lead character Mary. What I also liked about it was the controversy it was bringing to town. My church said if we saw it, and I quote, "you will rot forever in Hell." How stupid are these people? No movie starring a pop star could ever cause Satan to take me anymore, dude. Why don't they say anything about us rotting in Hell for seeing "The Passion?" Can you answer me that? I thought churches were against violence? I guessed wrong, obviously! Oh well! Overall, a great film. If you're an adult, see it. If you're a kid see it. But only if you don't have Bible-hugging parents.

Rating:
Summary: Jesus is not a weapon
Review: Having grown up in the 1970s in a similar environment to the movie (but worse - without the rock music, dancing and girls in sexy skirts) the film certainly hit home.
For six years I had to attend a private "Christian" academy. I put the word Christian with quotation marks because what I experienced was reflected in the movie.

As "Saved!" shows, there are many Christians who don't follow the Golden Rule. They go around making fools of themselves, pronouncing their piety like teenagers bragging about their last trip to the mall and what they purchased. Far worse, as the movie shows, is the self righteous attitude that turns to hatred of those they deem "unacceptable" -- gays, lesbians, pregnant unmarried girls, Jews, people of color, etc.

There are many who have taken offense to the movie. Some have stated that "Saved!" is a form of bigotry towards Christians, that it inaccurately depicts Christians and expresses hatred. But "Saved!" is frighteningly rooted in some reality. Yes, there are some stereotypes (it is a movie), but those characterizations are most definitely based on real people. (One of the primary writers attended a Christian school.) So the warped argument then follows: It's hateful to call hateful people hateful. Uhuh.

Ebert and Roeper reviewed this film and argued that it is not against Christianity. It's simply against a certain type of Christian. Some have tried to say that the film argues you have to renounce your beliefs. This is a circular argument. Who's to say that the crowd of "rejects" at the end aren't the true Christians? The film doesn't demand that you renounce Christianity, it just appropriately picks out the hypocrites.

"Saved!" is not a great movie necessarily. But it is funny. There were several scenes that rang completely true. And then there were many that came right out a hundred teeny-bopper flicks. Regardless, it is a good movie, one that I hope takes the mirror and reflects back to (some) Christians who use Jesus as a weapon.

That is, in fact, my favorite line from the movie. In one scene a "good Christian girl" throws a Bible at another who has supposedly forsaken Christ. The other girl hands the Bible back to her and says, "This is not a weapon!" I'd like to scream that sentiment from a few mountaintops myself.

Rating:
Summary: If you didn't it, you were made fun of in it!
Review: I was anticipating seeing this film since I saw the trailer months ago. I was unsure what to make of it, and the reviews were so strangely mixed, that I knew it was just one of those films that I'd just have to see. And I'm glad I did! It's not a five-star movie (no teen romantic dramedy is!), but definitely four stars.

For an accurate description, read the critics reviews, not the users. Caulkin was actually very good! He was very subtle and deadpan.

Moore was able to poke fun at herself and did a fine job, and the main character, Malone, was wonderful.

The film was funny, sad and romantic. Mostly funny...very funny.

And, yes, the film is didactic, but not forcefully so (other than the scene at the prom). Oftentimes it takes seeing anothers small-mindedness to help foster tolerance in oneself, as is the case in this movie. What we're presented with is a group of different people each with a different problem that doesn't jive with the conservative interpretation of the bible. How does one reconcile their reality (ego) with their ideals (superego)?

Lest I ramble too long, allow me to summarize: the film is good and preaches a good lesson. The film DOES NOT condemn Christianity or religious schools, only the small-mindedness that some of the followers exhibit(as is true of any fanatic).

Plus, who can beat a film with a lesson that actually has a happy ending anymore?!

Rating:
Summary: I have been redeemed
Review: I was so worried about this summer. The action flicks, the endless mindless sequels. Finally, there is a film that is funny, poignant, and has a message that is worth hearing.

The people who gave this movie a negative review have either A) never been submerged in the world this movie describes or B) live in that world and are stinging from the criticism.

First off, this movie is NOT making fun of Christianity, unlike what Jerry Falwell says. Instead it lampoons selfishness in the form of righteousness, bigotry, and religious insulation. I too have lived in this world where if it's not Christian or endorsed by Jesus Christ, then it's not worthy to own. Everyone lives in a bubble. The only music these kids listen to is Christian music, they only read Christian books, they only talk about God's will, they go to a Christian school and only hang out with other Christians, unless they're trying to convert the "heathens" and even then, it's only a temporary visit. However, certain events pop this bubble for our protagonists: Mary's boyfriend discovers his homosexuality and Mary (Jena Malone) herself becomes pregnant.

What I liked about this movie was that, yes, it is stinging criticism for this insulated and bigoted world, but the last half of the movie is a bit sweeter and more poignant. Mary is outcasted by the popular Christian girls (including Mandy Moore's character) but she is befriended by the "heathens" : the only Jewish girl in the Christian school and the handicapped boy who isn't a Christian at all. I think what angers Jerry Falwell and his followers off the most is that the said heathens possess the traits of Jesus (love, understanding, compassion, forgiveness) and the Christians do not. In fact, the adult Christians in this film send the "problem" children away instead of dealing with the gray areas of life. As Mary's gay boyfriend says, "You've kicked us out of our homes, our schools.....where else is there for us to go?"

In short, this is a hilarious and moving picture and has a message that is best summed up by Mary: "Why would God make us all so different if he wanted us to be the same?"

Rating:
Summary: Hit the Nail on the Head
Review: I went to a Christian college and I have to say that this movie hit the culture of Christian schools right on the head. Everything from the people raising their hands in Chapel to the viciousness of Hilary Faye. I laughed my butt off for the entire length of the movie. Anyone that has had any contact with this type of culture and a sense of humor would find it hysterical. I would so recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: "Mean Girls" meets "Elmer Gantry."
Review: I've heard that fundamentalist groups are lining up to protest Brian Dannelly's "Saved!", which is really too bad. This pleasant, charming and altogether rather innocent film provides a painless lesson about what true Christian behavior should be. The plot concerns Mary (Jena Malone), an innocent, earnest born-again girl who tries to cure her boyfriend of his newly realized gayness by seducing him. Her resulting pregnancy scandalizes the "Christian Jewels" clique at Mary's fundamentalist high school, led by the insufferable Hillary Faye (Mandy Moore). Some funny and lightly satirical complications ensue, enacted by a talented cast of teen-star royalty--not only Malone and Moore, but also Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit and Heather Matarazzo. The standout, however, is Eva Amurri (Susan Sarandon's daughter) as Cassandra, the only Jewish student at Mary's high school, who sets herself in gleeful rebellion against Hillary Faye's hypocritical rat pack. "Saved!" sends up various affectations of both the teen and born-again cultures, but with more affection than vitriol. The film is not anti-Christian at all, just anti-Pharisee. That anyone considers it controversial at all is more a commentary on society (and not a pleasant one) than on the movie.

Rating:
Summary: SAVED is an interesting trip into Contemporary Christians!
Review: SAVED is a good movie even if it's bound to shock or offend some hard line evangelical Christians. It's a comedy with some dramatic twists, and some interesting points to make about modern Christianity. The performances are all really good! The actors play this very real. Mandy Moore (as the sometimes cruel Hillary Faye) is not pure evil - just self-centered and not empathetic towards others. Jena Malone plays Mary who becomes heavy with child after trying to save her gay boyfriend. She makes her innocent and sympathetic. Mac Culkin plays a handicapped brother, and does it with a wry wit and sly style. Patrick Fugit is great as the pastor's son - who happens to be a semi-professional Christian skateboarder. Very moving also is Mary Louise Parker as Malone's mom - who finds the situation with her daughter quite hard to take.

Ultimately the movie is about tolerance - something I think most Christians understand already. It turns its critical eye on people who force others to feel inferior because of mistakes they make or faiths they have which do not line up with their own views. They also have some clever bits about the new face of Christianity - where the secular and sacred seemed to have become blurred (rock bands with Jesus messages, WWJD bracelets, etc). In the end it's a movie with a big heart - just maybe not an orthodox one. All the characters end up in an okay place, and no one is judged too harshly. And that seems to be the point - Judge not, lest ye yourself be judged.